Rebel, rebel
Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 9:48 
Very enjoyable webinar with Antony Worrall Thompson last night.
Antony was in good form ahead of his 70th birthday on May 1.
His pub, The Greyhound near Henley-on-Thames, reopens for outdoor drinking and dining next Wednesday.
I’ll be booking a table as soon as I can although I may have to wait because I understand that advance bookings are in great demand.
During the first lockdown Antony bought a shepherd’s hut so the pub could provide a takeaway service, Greyhound2Go.
This is another example of the type of entrepreneurialism I love to see. Instead of whinging and moaning, Antony has made the best of a difficult situation.
Boisdale’s Ranald Macdonald - a previous guest in The Smoking Room - is another. Likewise the pub in our neighbouring village. And there are many more.
Antony admitted that he wondered whether the takeaway service - which brought in a tenth of the income he could expect when the pub was fully open - was worth it, but on balance he thought that it was.
Funnily enough, it also brought out his rebellious streak when he admitted last year to having 'misread' coronavirus rules.
A rival ‘businessman’ complained that in addition to providing a takeaway service during lockdown, Antony had allowed customers to eat their food in the pub garden.
Worse, there was live music keeping them entertained!!
The police were called and Antony was ‘reminded’ of the regulations. I bet he loved it!
Reader Comments (8)
Great evening but sadly without a hands up function, which didn't work for me, it was hard to engage with the event.
I had wanted to ask AWT further about his stance on smoking in public again. I was rather disappointed with his defeatist attitude in saying "we lost the argument that's it. "
I accept that mixed smoking and non smoking will never be a thing again but why not smoker only pubs etc.. Does AWT think there could be a market for it? Does he think the 20% lost custom from those of us who voted against the ban with our feet and stopped going out, might be tempted back with specialist venues and does he think this might even give the post lockdown hospitality business a boost?
I also wanted to say that I was brought up on TV chefs Fanny Craddock and The Galloping Gourmet and survived, and say a few things about food - but mostly that I don't have much interest in it.
Obviously food is fuel and we must eat but whether that is the stale bread processed cheese sandwich I snacked on when hungry as one of Britain's greatest chefs was talking, or something more exotic doesn't make much difference.
As for taste buds, I am the same. As I am they go through the roof so I really do not like spicy food, I hate onions, and garlic, or anything too hot, so if smoking does damage taste buds, then it does a bad job of it.
Finally, as a smoker, I do not get the idea of comfort eating. Why comfort eat when you can comfort smoke?
I don't know why the hands up function didn't work but it was a shame.
Oh, and the rat. I wanted to ask him about the rat which my daughter said he caught, skinned and cooked on I'm a celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
Sorry you weren’t able to engage directly, Pat. At least you were able to watch/listen. Several people have told us they wanted to attend last night’s meeting but couldn’t and on further investigation it turned out they hadn’t actually registered which meant they didn’t receive the link. Next time you join one of our meetings we’ll see if we can help you find the missing button!
Thanks. It was good fun but more like watching TV.
AWT made me laugh out loud a few times.
Hello Simon;- after missing a couple previously, I made the supreme effort of setting the alarm for 4:30 am to make the meeting at 5:00 am NZ time (after going to bed at 12:30 am!)
My first zoom meeting;- I could see the "hand-up" button quite clearly, but felt no need to put myself forward while others had the first few questions / interactions - but what did disappoint me, having been led to believe from others reports of previous zoom events that there might be a chance of general audience interaction afterward, as there would surely be at a live event - was how abruptly the session was ended.
Again, at a live event, the audience might well mix and mingle, for even an hour afterward, or at least half that, and at UK time surely able to find drinks, and speak with each other, especially putting faces to names, names to faces, some known, &etc.
I was on coffee and RYO cigarettes - it would have been great if there had been a chance to interact with other blog commentators afterward, as though at an actual event.
Pat Nurse, John Mallon I recognised from previous posts.
A thought for future events?
Thanks! ;=})
Ross Matheson (RdM)
Auckland, New Zealand.
As a "foodie" and keen home cook, as well as a smoker, I greatly enjoyed the event, and it was lovely to engage with Anthony, whom I remember well from his various TV appearances over the years, especially "Ready Steady Cook" in which I was always fascinated by his innate ability to invent masterpieces from next to nothing - he was probably the most successful creator on that show.
Luckily for me, the "Raise Hand" function did work on my MacBook! Sorry to hear that Pat couldn't make it work on her system. Despite my love of garlic and spicy food (in addition to non-spicy, non-garlic food), I agree with Pat, as well as with Anthony, on the point of whether smoking affects your taste buds or not. I sincerely doubt it affects mine, as I have a very keen sense of taste - one of the main reasons that I enjoy smoking, and also smoked food. I've often joked that, if smoking really did affect my taste buds, and they improved if I gave up (never happening!), then I could probably become a professional wine taster! Perhaps I could anyway.
My only wish for the evening was that it could have been two hours long, rather than just one, so that we could have enjoyed many more of Anthony's anecdotes, views, and expertise. Naturally I understand that might have put upon him a bit too much though. Maybe we could have another Smoking Room event with Anthony in the not too distant future?
In any case, I want to thank FOREST for organising and hosting these Smoking Room events, which I am enjoying very much, both because of the guest speakers and because of the contributions of other FOREST members. These online "virtual" events really open up the ability to attend, especially to people who don't live in or relatively near London, and I hope they will continue in perpetuity, long after lockdown ends and the pandemic recedes, alongside the resumption of in-person "real" events.
For me personally, the Smoking Room events are also creating a list of "must go to" restaurants, when I'm visiting the south, i.e. smoker-friendly places with fine food and good atmosphere.
Thanks to everyone and, of course, especially to Anthony.
Perhaps I could add that most Friday and sometimes Saturday nights, perhaps from 10pm or earlier UK time, Frank Davis hosts a virtual smoker friendly drinks bar at
https://whereby.com/smokydrinkybar
I know that some of the regulars there were at the zoom meeting as well;- all others would be welcome too.
Come and meet ... folk from the UK, US, Denmark, NZ and?
Thanks for your comments and feedback. I was going to post a video of the AWT meeting today but given the death of Prince Philip I thought I’d leave it a day or two. When I do post it I’ll try and address some of your points.